Suriname, Dutch Expel Diplomats
In a tit-for-tat move, the government asked Suriname to recall its top diplomat in the Netherlands, the Foreign Ministry announced early today.
The diplomatic move late Saturday against Carlo Spier, Suriname’s charge d’affaires, was in response to a Surinamese request earlier in the day for the ouster of Dutch Ambassador Dirk Jan van Houten, ministry spokesman Peter van Vliet said.
In that request, the regime of strongman Desi Bouterse accused the envoy of “interfering impermissibly in the internal affairs of Suriname,” Van Vliet said.
The Dutch government was asked to withdraw Van Houten by Jan. 25, according to Van Vliet.
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